Fabric-cleaning apparatus.



C. A. DILLON. FABRIC CLEANING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 05c. 29, 19M. 1,291,440. Patented Jan. 14,1919.

Inventor Charles 2 Hilton Jttnrngg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

cn'AnLEs A. DILLON, orcimrou, onmJlassmnon TO THE UNITED ELECTRIC eoMPANY;

OF CANTON, QHLO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

reBnIc-cwimmo APPARATUS.

Patented J an. 14, 1919.

Application flied December 29, 1911. Serial No. 668,631.

usefull ebrice-Cleaning Apparatus. of which the following is a specification.

'Lhq nvcntion relates to a process of and apparatus tor cleaning strips or long sheets of i. b in: by. the sowhile;l..51 ;tj on or lncuurn method, and the object of the improvement is to thoroughly rmnovc all separable dust and dim from the fabric by a single or continuous operation.

In the inonufnctm'e of rubber tires, a lamina of rubber composition, colloquially called friction," containing more or less sulfur, is cured by enveloping 'and com pressing between the piles of a closely woven fabric, of cloth or canvas, rolled into a spiral puck; andas :1 result of. this curing process, a considerable amount of sulfur is secrerml from the composition and is taken up by the cloth or canvas. wherein it adheres and dries in the form of a sulfurous dust which must be removed from the fabric before the snmc can be cfiiciently used for a repetition of the curing process. The sulfur-nus powder adheres quite tennciously in the pores or interstices of the fabric, and it is practically impossible to completely remove'it by ordinary means.

The present invention has been devised more particularly for the purpose of clcu ning 0r removing the sulfur-011s dust adhering to the cloth or canvas as n result of such a rubber curing process, and has been successi'nlly uscdin this connection; but it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to such particular 11:0. for it is evident that the improved process and up paratus can as Well be used for cleaning! any kind oi separable dirt or dust from any kind of cloth or fabric. as, for instance, cotton, woolenysilkcn or other cloths. felts, carpets and the like.

The purposes of the invention, thus set forth in general terms, are attained by passing the fabric, preferably from one roll to another, uround t e side of a transverse tube having a longitudinal suction slot in its contact side, and then proximately around the opposite side of a similar transverse adjcoent tube having a longitudinal suction slot in its cont-not side; whereby the suction of the first slot not only draws all separable dust from the fabric in one dircction hut deflects the fabric into the slot, thus strctclr iug it on one side and compressing it on the other side and loosening the dust therein, and the suction through the second slot rc' moves the rcmaining; dust by drawing it, from the Fabric in the oppositc direction, thereby thoroughly and completely cleaning tho fabric from all separable dust.

A. simple, and therefore a preferred embodiment of the invention, thus set. forth in general tcrms. is illustrated in the nccom ponyin; druwiu forming part hereof, in which Figure 1 is a r'de elevation of u table showing: the apparatus in longitudinal section mounted thereon;

Fig. 2. :1 plan view of one end of the table showingthc suction tubes and the adjacent roller;

Fig. 5. an outline new of a preferred form of dust collecting apparatus;

Fig. -l. n Frngnicntury sectional View showing the general arrangement of the two surliou tubes; and

Fig. a sectional view of one tube showing the dclloclion of tho 'l'nlu-ic in the suction slot thereof.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawing.

Upon the nude-int the table l are mounted suitable brackets .2 in which are fornu-d journal hearings l for lhcnxinl pivots loud 4; on the ends of the spindles 5, one or both of which pivots may be extended and supplied with :1 pulley wheel (3 having a handle 7 for either pnu'vr or nmnunl operation. i

The suction tubes 8 and 8' are transversely supported adjacent in ouch otlu-r on tlie'tuhlc by suitable hrnckvts us 9, the ends of, the tubes being connected to the Ts 10 by means of the elbows ll and nipples '12 which in turn are connected by the nipples 13, the elbows 14. the pipes 1.5 and on one side with the elbow 16 and the transverse pipe 17 to a junction with the T 18 and thence by the main pipe 19110 a connection with the separating chamber 20 of a dust collecting epparatus which, as shown, preferably includes a fan blower 21 and an electric motor 22.

The transverse tubes 8 and 8? are preferably located parallel with the spindle at the forward end of the table, and the forward tube 8 is preferably located above and the rearward tube 8 below the plane of the s indles; thus ositioning the tubes in a p ane extending iagonall upward and forward across e plane of t e spindles. The fabric 23 to bd cleaned is first wound on the spindle 5 at the rear end of the table, whence the free end of the fabric is carried forward under the rearward tube and thence upward and over the forward tube and thence is wound upon the forward s indle.

The suction tubes 8 an 8 are each provided with longitudinal slots 24 and 24, the same being located in the under side of the rearward tube 8 and in the upper side of the forward tube 8", to bring the slots on opposite sides of the plane of the tubes in such position that the fabric will extend across and cover the slots when passed around the tubes.

The slots are preferably made by sawing or milling longitudinal kcrfs in the sides of the tubes and are preferably about one-tenth of an inch wide in a two inch tube for cleaning a com aratively thin tube for (-leanwhich widt l of slot and size of tube may be varied for fabrics of different kinds and thickness; and the outer edges of the slots are preferably slightly rounded to prevent a scraping or cutting of the fabric thereby.

In operation of the apparatus for cleaning the fabric, the same is drawn from the rear spindle by a rotation of the forward spindle, and, in so doing passes around the suction tubes and across the suction slots therein: and, the suction cleaning machine being placed in operation, a strong suction is created in the tubes which forcefully draws the air inward through the slots and neces sarily through the portion of the fabric which extends across the slots, which sucks deflects inward that which extends across t e slot, as indicated at into the tube all free dust there may be in the fabric.

The same suction furthermore draws or ortion of the fabric 25 in Figs. 4 and 5, which deflection bends the fabric in the form of two reverse curves, and serves to alternately bend the fabric successively in three directions and to alternately stretch and then compress the opposite sides thereof thereby loosening the dust adhering to the fabric.

It is evident that, as the fabric passes the suction slot of the one tube, the free dust will be drawn through and from the fabric from one side to the other and at the same time the fabric will be so bent in reverse directions as to further loosen the dust there-.

in; and that, as the fabric then passes immediately across the suction slot in the other tube, the dust which has been loosened by the bending while passing across the first slot will be drawn through and from the fab ric in the opposite direction at the same time the fabric is being again deflected or bent in reverse directions to further loosen the dust therein, whereby all dust is not only loosened but removed from both sides of the fabric.

I claim:

A fabric cleaning apparatus including a pluralit of parallel suction tubes having longitudinal slots therein and means for passing opposite sides of the fabric in proximate succession over the slots in contact with the lips thereof, whereby the fabric is deflected and bent reversely inward bctween the lips by the air passing into the slots through thebends of the fabric.

CHARLES A. DILLON.

Witnesses:

RUTH A. MILLER,

F nm) J. ZETTLER. 

